Train Station Safe at Pelham Manor Depot Was Blown Open with Dynamite Yet Again on April 24, 1902

The Pelham Manor Depot and the little Pelham Manor Post Office once stood near the eastern end of today's Esplanade, across the branch line railroad tracks from today's Manor Circle. Poor local residents repeatedly had to suffer through massive dynamite explosions as burglars repeatedly cracked the station safe and the post office safe. I have written about one such incident in 1894. See Fri., March 6, 2009: Burglars Blow the Safe at the Pelham Manor Post Office in 1894.

In April, 1902, burglars used dynamite to blow open the Pelham Manor Depot safe twice in quick succession. The crafty thieves realized that if they left the red-hot stove in the station as they blew the safe, the resulting fire likely would prevent them from collecting their loot. Thus, they carried the red hot stove outside into the roadway so it would not be upset inside the station.

An article about the burglaries appeared in the April 26, 1902 issue of the New Rochelle Pioneer. The text of that article appears below.

"BURGLARS USE DYNAMITE
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Second Visit Within a Month of Robbers at Pelham Manor.
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DISCOVERED BY A WATCHMAN.
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For the second time in a month Pelham Manor was visited by safe blowers on Tuesday night. On a former visit the gang blew open the safe in the Post Office, and in order to avoid setting fire to the building carried a redhot stove out into the middle of the road. Tuesday night [April 22, 1902] they blew open the safe in the office of the Pelham Trading Company, but obtained only some insurance papers, as the company's money had been deposited in the afternoon in one of the banks of this city.

The cracksmen then went to the suburban station of the New Haven Railroad, where they attempted to blow open the safe with dynamite, but failed in the first attempt because the charge was not heavy enough. A second charge was then prepared, but as the men were ready to light the fuse they were discovered by a watchman and fled. There were four of the burglars, the watchman says, each wearing a mask and heavily armed. They escaped by jumping on a passing freight train, and it is believed that they are now in Connecticut.

The charge of dynamite was still in the safe, and the employees were afraid to go near it. The safe contained all the tickets and commutation books and several hundred dollars in cash. The station agent sent word to the officers of the company at New Haven for an expert who removed the dynamite."

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About Me

Blake A. Bell is Town Historian and a member of the Town Council of Pelham, NY in Westchester County. He is a member of the Boards of Trustees of the Westchester County Historical Society (past member of the Executive Committee), and the Society of the National Shrine of the Bill of Rights at Saint Paul's Church National Historic Site (Chair). He served as the editor and publisher of the award-winning HistoricPelham.com Web site. He is the author of two books regarding the history of Pelham: (1) "Thomas Pell and the Legend of the Pell Treaty Oak" (iUniverse 2004); and (2) Town of Pelham's 350th Anniversary Celebration: Historian Blake Bell's Articles Published in The Pelham Weekly Plus Photos of Key Events (Pelham Weekly 2006). In addition, he is the author of more than 80 published articles on Pelham history and is a frequent speaker on matters relating to the history of Pelham and surrounding areas. Mr. Bell is Senior Knowledge Management Counsel with 850-lawyer Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP in New York City.